Dover mortuary supervisor resigns

Pentagon and Air Force officials confirm that the supervisor at the center of the Dover mortuary scandal has resigned.

Quinton Keel was the division director at the Dover mortuary when allegations of the mishandling of America's war dead were first reported. Keel himself was accused of lying to federal investigators and retaliation against three whistleblowers. he government's Office of Special Counsel accused him of "negligence, misconduct and dishonesty." He was also accused of ordering the mutilated arm of a dead Marine sawed off so the body would fit into his uniform for burial.

The latest investigations had found that partial remains of victims killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, along with those of service members killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, had been incinerated and dumped in a Virginia landfill.

Two other supervisors remain under investigation for alleged attempts to retaliate against the whistleblowers who first brought the issues at Dover to the attention of federal investigators.

The Air Force and Pentagon had resisted repeated calls from members of Congress and veterans groups that someone be fired over the scandal. That appeared to change earlier this week, when the White House announced the president was "deeply concerned" over the growing scandal and reports that unidentified remains of 9/11 victims had been dumped in a landfill.

As for Quinton Keel, one senior defense officials told NBC News today that "If he hadn't quit, he would have been fired."